Page 73 of Bright Dark Curses

I decided to take that as me rather than Ian. “Thank you. Did you find anything suspicious?”

“Nothing. No vials or herbs. I tried the magic detection potion on the bathroom counter but got nothing.”

“Maybe hidden in the room’s safe?”

There was an awkward pause, then Key cleared her throat. “Not in the room’s safe.”

“I hope you wore gloves.”

“I used a tissue to wipe things down,” she assured me with a hint of indignation.

I kept my thoughts about her break-in experience to myself. “Doesn’t mean they’re not guilty, but Lydia Lee is looking better and better as our main suspect.” I brightened. “Want to come with when we go to Dorsey’s later?” Key and I hadn’t had much time together since the Halloween debacle, and nothing said friendship bonding like breaking into possible dark witches’ rooms together.

“What about Dru?” she asked with some hesitancy.

In a perfect world, I would take both. But in this case, three was too many. “Dru can cover for you at the set if she’s up to it. She might notice something we haven’t.”

“That’s true.” She sounded cheered up, and I knew I’d made the correct decision by asking her to come. “When should we go?”

“A bit after they start filming. I’ll close the shop early and we can meet by the bed and breakfast.”

“Perfect. I’ll tell Shane.”

“I’ll tell Dru.”

I did right after we ended the call.

“Watching movie magic happen, huh?” she answered, liking the idea from the sounds of it. “That’ll be all right, I guess.”

“Remember, you’re supposed to be on the lookout for dark witches trying to sabotage the set.”

“Sure. You think the guy playing Jack Larson will be there?”

“I thought you weren’t interested in him.”

“I’m interested in selling his autograph.”

I pictured her Cheshire-cat grin. “Never miss an opportunity to increase your shop’s inventory.”

“Indeed.”

Our plans set, I had nothing left to do but check the status of my crystal delivery—you guessed it: preparing for shipment—and tend to the shop. Thankfully, customer traffic increased as the afternoon turned into early evening, and being busy helped time pass a lot quicker than it would have otherwise.

It might not be proper of me to admit it, but I was looking forward to Key’s and my adventures in breaking in. It wouldn’t be as awesome as being at the movie set, but the possibility of finding proof of villainy in our prime suspect’s room was very appealing.

Ian would be so proud of us.

Grandma too, of course.

True to my promise, I closed up early and met Key at our designated spot a couple of blocks away from the bed and breakfast. No new revelations had come to light since our talk earlier, which only helped intensify the feeling that something big was going to happen tonight.

Our UNSUB had grown bolder with each day, and they were bound to make a mistake. We would catch them when they did.

Light poured out of the front windows of the house. When I peeked in, I saw Dorsey talking on the phone behind the counter.

I’d hoped she’d have gone to do her nightly pursuits by now and leave us free to use the front door, but it wasn’t a deal breaker.

“Dorsey’s still in,” I whispered to Key.

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